The Netherlands supports higher defence spending, Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans said on 13 June.
“The Dutch government supports NATO’s new defence spending target of 3.5 percent and 1.5 percent for defence-related expenditure,” he wrote on social media X.
Brekelmans called the increase necessary to ensure the security of the Netherlands and allies “in view of increasing threats.”
“This allows us to strengthen our Armed Forces and take responsibility for our security,” he added.
NATO members are discussing a general increase in defence spending to 5 percent of GDP.
Czech President Petr Pavel on 12 June expressed the view that at the NATO summit in The Hague on 24-26 June, the alliance’s member states could agree to an increase in defence spending to 5 percent of GDP, but does not expect “strong statements regarding Ukraine”.
The alliance summit will be held on 24-25 June in The Hague with the participation of 32 heads of state and government, in particular US President Donald Trump. The main topic of the meeting is money. It is in The Hague that a new target for defence spending is to be formally agreed upon.